Join us for our 90th Coffee with the Commissioner event Wednesday, Feb. 14. The Zoom live stream will take place from 6:30-7:30 a.m. To join the meeting, visit our District 1 Facebook site here: www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/.
Attendees this month will include County Administrator Wes Moreno, Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore, and EMS Chief David Torsell III. Moreno will provide an update on county business, Gilmore will discuss public safety matters, and Chief Torsell will provide insight into the county's emergency medical services division. We will discuss issues related to EMS billing, Ambulance service, hold times, and other topics that have been raised recently. This coffee will allow for other viewpoints and opinions that illustrate both sides of contentious issues within public safety. We will also discuss the county's ongoing CORE program and our efforts at confronting the ongoing opioid epidemic that results in an average of 6 overdose calls weekly in our area.
If you are interested in this topic--I encourage you to send questions and comments you would like to discussed during the event through Facebook or they can be emailed to district1@myescambia.com or texted to me 850-293-1459.
For more information, contact our office at 850-595-4910
13 comments:
I'm glad you are listening to your chief. He is in an extremely difficult position and for you to have this meeting shows you are willing to listen and support your employees.
Glad you didn't take the road like Underhill did with the vote regarding Weaver. You seemed to have learned from that. Firing people is no the answer to votes of no confidence or other problems. Work it out.
I don't know the in and out specifically of what is going on with in the organization as just a member of the public, but here is a good link to understand votes of no confidence. It could be political ahead of negotiations.
I think retention of employees should be addressed.
As far as long response times in the northend, perhaps units shouldn't be dispatched from there to the more populated south end because logistically the county is very spread out. 2 hours waits are not acceptable not helicopters as a back up. $$$$
People in the north end pay taxes also. Don't ignore the quiet ones.
I think people have an unreasonable expectation of emergency services transportation though.
You can't really have someone on call to appear magically with in a second if one is in distress. Great if it can happen but sometimes life throws us curve balls. People need to remeber first aid and be self reliant and transport themselves if possible.
And prevention!
I think the original function of a county providing emergency transport and pre hospital care was to clear the roadways after accidents.
I do agree the negativity spread by the hate mongers is a disease in of itself. Disgruntled employees taking a platform is distasteful. Don't go away mad. Just go away.
http://neiassociates.org/no-confidence/
No doubt, if employees on the road are stretched to the limits, they are stressed and will look for greener pastures.
And the cycle perpetuates.
Retention is important.
I think you lost a lot of good ones under Gilley and Edler and the word is out about that. I wouldn't want to work somewhere where they throw people under the bus and publish confidential employee issues in the newspaper and internet. It makes it tough to be a public servant when some think it's OK to harass and bully behind a screen on a keyboard. Like ECW does.
It is an emotional time for a person to have to wait when it's a life-threatening ordeal, yet professionals and leaders can look at the big picture.
The link above advises the chief to not take the no confidence vote personally and to be visible is a step in the right direction.
Good job as usual, Commissioner Bergosh. 👏
Torsell is right about how some of those people think it's OK intimidate and ride by houses and take photos and dox if you disagree with them. Good for him.
Bad bunch. Glad he filed police reports.
ECSO probably won't do anything though unless a crime is really committed.
Torsell looked stressed and I think it did him a lot of good to get the airtime. He looked better at the end. 7Good for him to be able to tell his side and be heard. I doubt he will be fired because of a union vote. Good. Don't react to the pressure.
Not sure if he'll see this but one reason I post anonymously is the bullies will do that to anybody and falsely acuse people that don't lock step with their borderline personality mental disorder on social media and dox also. Usually only fake profiles engage in discussions that don't support the admins' views
That's why maybe 3 people comment on her rants and 3 people throw down laugh emoticons. Eff em. Social media is a bane in Escambia Government.
Keep on keeping on.
I also agree with Wes, just because some employees are in a union doesn't give them a right to disrespect management.
Enjoy the negotiations. Wes seems to get it.
Union negotiations in AM. 9 o'clock.
Pretty sure that vote was political ahead of that.
I
Disgruntled employee spouting off on echo chamber of hate.
Probably can still make some improvements. Sounds like you pay well and have good benefits.
Retiring at about 50 yrs old is good. It gets here quicker than youth think. True that.
One more.
Opiate overdoses should be moved to LOW priority. I've been studying counseling and adhering to it for family members to cope with others' addiction, especially if it's
a loved one addicted.
It's tough.
One simply has to draw a boundary and not be drawn in to the chaos of other people's bad choices.
I know you have a lot of compassion and also are a part of the Health and Hope Clinic.
I think that the advise for families could apply to communities.
Opiate overdosers will most likely repeat and a junkie's life is like a setting sun. It's slow suicide anyway. They make those choices and we don't all have to suffer.
Lower priority in the protocols for self imposed OD for junkies.
Tough Love.
Happy Valentines Day.
Advice is not to ENABLE junkie's either.
Also all the EMS response to shooting in the south end shouldn't steal services from the north end where some elderly law abiding citizen is suffering a heat attack emergency.
Bad choices = lower priority.
Reference D5 town hall concerns about response time in the outback hinterlands of Escambia county. Long waits.
If you have a couple units stationed there, and not called away, it could seem like gravy train shift for staff to just hang out if nothing much is going on. Rotate the assignment. It's like a paid break shift. Catch up on some reading or something.
Those shift assignments incentives are a good idea but realize for some it's hard to work overtime. Like single parents. Etc.
Maybe Torsell could use a little management training.. fine, we are all leaning. He has a lot on his plate.
We were on the road during this coffee, and I thought about tuning in for a split second before reminding myself not to waste any more life on listening to a blowhard covering for a brittle beta narcissist playing second fiddle to a sociopathic thug who isn't fit for the prime time of Morning Coffee.
So glad skimming the comments here that I didn't bother.
Looks like they've got it all cleaned up and figured out, with a dollop of self-victimization on top. Wes is a good man doing his best to deal with still smoldering fires from the previous administrators (along with the hires of the last one), and it's understandable that cleaning the swamp at EMS might not make sense logistically, because that would necessitate a total rethinking of Public Safety and Emergency Management in general.
So the choice has been made. And once more, this time for good, I'll wash my hands of worrying about our EMS being in shambles--and it is indeed in shambles--due to textbook leadership and toxic workforce issues.
I'll continue to tell loved ones and friends that if they can possibly transport to the hospital themselves, do that rather than waste time waiting for an ambulance for God knows how long while a fire truck sits there for expensive optics.
Things will continue to deteriorate, until at some point there will be a very high visibility call that can't be covered up like the previous ones (and many of you reading know exactly which calls I'm talking about). That will then set in motion the serious pushes waiting in the background for either (1) Lifeguard to come in and provide a superior, private service, or (2) consolidation of City and County Public Safety that will begin the slippery slope towards a combined charter with DOWNTOWN MONEY at the top. Heck, those gears are already turning as we speak anyway. So maybe nobody has to die to get it started.
So be it. To any employees who are shuffling through their days in what feels like endless hell who don't have a lot invested in the system, those who have picked up their families and gotten out are now in much happier and healthier places, not just spiritually but literally.
For those trying to get to retirement fully vested, keep your head down, grit your teeth, and bear it.
Those are the options, but then, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. And for those of you public who are foolish enough to believe the hooey that department is shoveling about call time, and believe that Escambia EMS is fine with a few kinks to work out, there's a term for that. It's called "natural selection."
Anonymous at 2:49 PM
Respectfully, what management training should Chief Torsell take? Daycare management? What business, name any with the number of employees the county has, would condone or consider it "Humane treatment" as the Union is screaming - allow non emergency speeding in ambulances, personnel to have sex with fellow employees (most married), send *ick pics to EMS partners, be continually late for work, refuse to work in heavy 911 call areas, break laws that jeopardize their paramedic state license, mistreat patients, etc, etc. and give employees pass after pass because that is the "humane" thing to do?
Obviously, Torsell came here with ambitious expectations and good intentions. I think Chief Torsell thought he could come here and be the change, putting Escambia Co.EMS back on the map and restore its long ago reputation, build on it and set a state wide example. Sadly, his good intentions have been restrained in a place that survives and thrives on dysfunction, chaos, harassment and borderline criminality.
This county has a long standing ideology of - "If it ain't broke and we ain't been busted - don't fix it."
The current EMS management team is honestly too good for this county. My advice - RUN, like in the horror movies, don't run into the shed with the dangling chainsaws - run away from it! Go where your knowledge, experience and talents will be appreciated.
I wonder if members of the public strain the system if they can't get a Dr appt because they have no insurance so they call 911 get a free ride to the ER and free medical care at the ER while the responsible rule followers who have income, insurance pay taxes can't get timely service they pay for.
I don't know about what Torsell needs but perhaps he is also stressed. He had glowing reviews. Maybe he is pushing over time to try to get it covered and maybe he doesn't get the whole picture of people balancing family and work. IDK.
I listened to the union rep at the public forum last night.
I think you all do have problems.
Of course Commissioners aren't in union negotiations but are aware of the big picture.
Honestly I don't care if they want nookie on the job if they can get away with it. Like yeah don't send pictures over public phones.
Escambia probably has more challenges than affluent counties because of the public, ODing, shooting each other, not working, etc.
So,yes it will be hard to retain employees if they can't get time off.
What do the employees think will solve their own problems besides quitting?
What should he do, fire them? Sounds like children telling on each other, thinking Daddy is going to do something.
Human nature. You bet some adrenaline junky EMS is gonna hit the lites and speed, people in highly emotional work relationships are going to be attracted to each other.
Big deal.
Nosy MS Kravatz sticking their nose into all that and publishing it on facebook cause problems.
Get a life.
Jacqueline Aimee Rogers
Sprosedotn9424a53ml6a5l2ucm2a16l90c5l1391a0aah468g30935f4877 ·
What a disaster of a response by Wes Moreno in this interview with Andrew McKay on 92.3 FM.
It sounded to me like Wes had been drinking. He was definitely seething.
That's why you hire an administrator that is qualified, educated, and experienced in Public Administration /Public Policy to deal with serious issues like this, not just carry water for commissioners.
Moreno's most recent response was a disaster!
He only met with the Supervisors and employees that Torsell wanted him to hear from and most likely part of the harassment culture!
He refuses to meet with the EMS union employees to discuss the problems outlined but he says he wants "specificity" ... Um... Go talk to them!
He wants to know specifically who voted for the No Confidence declaration!
Of course, he does!
Moreno said about the union, "They know where I work, too."
He's not going to change anything. Full stop.
He doesn't believe there is a problem.
The Commissioners are OK with this unprofessional response??!!
Calling citizens and employees liars?
"Nothing to see here..."
This lady is not very kind.
FYI Mel i was in a conservation a guy you know well said he understands why you might be frustrated he said you were raised by a Narcissistic Mother.
I would be careful on who you tell your life story he was like a open book.
I am so happy to see that Mel Pino has gotten the help she needs to move past her fatal attraction with Chief Torsell, it was starting to give me major ick. And if I didn’t know any better, it’s almost as if Pino and Rogers have joined evil forces to form the Dave Torsell Fan Club. We may have to petition Teen Beat to come out of the antiquity closet and do a full spread insert of Torsell in his navy blues for these ladies. I hope they both know, obsession is not a form of flattery. (And that goes for you too Humbpty Dumbpty- can’t pay my bills)
What’s even better, you have current and/or ex employees on here admitting to their indiscretions, making the case for the county. So to summarize:
Pino is now romancing Lifeguard to be their Jack Rogers and push their agenda, a company that can’t even meet their obligations in neighboring counties.
AND a small fraction of Escambia County EMS employees are butt hurt because they believe the county should give them fat raises but implement a new policy of letting the druggies OD, ignore the homeless and tell the underprivelaged to take the bus to the ER because taxpayers with jobs don’t use ambulances, they make appointments with their primary and drive themselves to the Emergency room. If the county would just do that - they wouldn't have to use those Paramedic skills to Paramedic so much.
No wonder Chief Torsell looks exhausted. The man is being pursued by two sycophants being baited and used by those who have lost power and respect. He’s being harassed by current workers and ex workers and their spouses who think adulting means - all negative consequences to my recklessness and ignorance are the fault of the person that held me liable. Therefore, coping skills result in blaming, harassing, stalking and threatening the person you think put you in that situation when actually, you are the cause. I'd be exhausted too.
9:25 AM/EMS Administration (is that you, Stephens?),
Thank you for your puerile, sexist, and revolting remarks. They very well demonstrate everything that the BCC, Wes Moreno, and the public requires to understand the deranged mentality of the contingency of low-lifes in that department trying to hold up Torsell and Gilmore's EMS house of cards. Very helpful.
Mel you should make confessions to your plumber your life becomes a open book.
We all know Mel likes powerful men Underhill Kohler Stroberger. I think when Doug refused to take her to the mall she got all riled up. I was at a meet at a church Doug Underhill said hun to Mel when she almost tripped she was so excited
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